Barbecue restaurant Smoke Shack to open Jan. 24 in Third Ward

Smoke Shack, the barbecue restaurant that's been in the works at 332 N. Milwaukee St. in the Third Ward, is opening Jan. 24, co-owner Joe Sorge said today.

For the past month, the staff has been testing and tasting dishes, and now the restaurant's ready to go. It will serve pork, beef and chicken cooked over cherry and hickory woods in the casual restaurant's Southern Pride smoker, which can hold 1,000 pounds of meat.

Sorge said Smoke Shack will buy whole Berkshire hogs, a heritage breed, and said meats it uses will be raised without antibiotics or hormones.

Meats will be served without sauce, but there will be four kinds on the tables of the 50-seat restaurant: a sweet and smoky Kansas City-style sauce, a spicy Texas-style sauce, one inspired by Carolina-style sauces, with both vinegar and mustard, and a sweet and spicy house sauce.

Customers will find spare ribs, baby back ribs, beef ribs and short ribs on the menu, as well as brisket and half chickens. Barbecue lovers will also find rib tips and burnt ends on the menu. While the focus is on meat, Smoke Shack is planning dishes for vegetarians, such as sloppy joes made with seitan and barbecue sauce.

Sandwiches and entrees come with sides; prices will run about $10 to $12 for sandwiches, and entrees from about $10 to $24.